Amusement apparatus



Sept 16 1924. 1,508,714

E. o. NORBERG AMUSEMENT APPARATUS Filed March 29. 1923 3 Sheefs-Sheet ll 11v VENTOR. 1/ [7772.11 0 Wax-ber semi. 16, 1924. 1,508,714 E. O. NORBERG AMUSEMENT APPARATUS Filed March 29 192 3 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 16 1924.

1,508,714 E. o. NORBERG v AMUS EMENT APPARATUS Filed March 29 1923 3 Shgets-Sheet 3 Patented Sept. 16, 1924.

TBS

ERNEST ojnonnnae, or rnrcnoenn, NEW YORK.

[AMUSEMENT APPARATUS.

I Application, emanates- 29,"-1923. Serial n01 628,676.

To all whom it may concern V 0 Be it knownthatl, ERNEST O. 'Nonenne, a subject of the King of Sweden, and a resi dent of Patchogue, county of Sufiolk, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement inAmusementApparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide an amusement apparatus which may be used at resorts or elsewhere. to: afford persons amusement by playing a game which simulates baseball so that several persons may play at once and each in competition with all the others. This object is accomplished by my invention, one embodiment of which is hereinafter more particularly set forth.

For a more detailed description of my'invention,reference is to be hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof,-

in which-. I l

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of one section of the same, it being understood that other sections are identical therewith. I H

Figure 3 shows a detail of construction involving the controller which is operated by the player I I e Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the electrical connections for one panel f,

. Figure 5 shows a portion of the ball provjecting mechanism of the apparatus.

Figures 6 and 7 areside and plan views of the figure moving parts of the apparatus, and

Figure 8 shows an escapement for releasing the figure. r I a V Throughout the various ,views ,of the drawings, similar reference charactersdesignate similar parts.

My improved apparatus 1 contains several panels 2, one of which only will be described as it, is understoodthat others are duplicates thereof and as many may be put in line or otherwise, as required. Eachpanel-Q has an actuating lever 3 which mayrtake the form of a bat and; preferably does so,.which is pivoted at 4 on uprights 5 that rise from a table 6 which is separated from a second y I I I .which is fixed thereto and has at its inner table 7 so that an aisle 8 is bad wherean attendant may move to attend to the game and collect fees and perform any otherduties incident to his position. The aisle 8 may be closed at each end by suitable swinging gates I I p ymal conditlons and the pin 27. in engage 9, or in any other suitable way.

jmay be viewed by the player;

i The bat or lever 3 has one end 10 which may be struck by 'a player and pressed downwardly towards the table 6 andwhen so pressed the other end is elevated and will .pull a cord 11 which runs over a number of -a box 16 which preferably has a glass front 17 through which the contents may be viewed. This box 16 is mounted'on the the top thereof and ina position where it The lever 13 is held in an inclined position, as shown .in Figure; 5, by means .ofa coil spring. 18 which has one end secured. to a bracket 19 secured to the bottom ofthe box 16 and the other end to an eyelet orother suitable sion of the, spring; The position of the parts is such that the lever l3'is inclined from the horizontal, as shown, under normal con ditions and the lowerlend of this lever carfront of thetableor cabinet 7 and near 'ries a ballv 20 which is thrown upwardly; when the string 11 is suddenly pulled. This stringis given a sudden pull when theend 10 of the lever 3 is struck by the hand of the player. The force with which the ball 20 will" be projected will depend on the force with which thepart '10 is struck, as above described. In the box 16 are two guides 21 and 22 which are flared slightly and at their lower ends are normally closed bythe spring pressed trap 23.1which is .so arranged and disposed, as willbe described below, that it will fly open and permitthe ball 20 to falllon the lever 13 and close immediatelyafter the ball leavesit. Y lhe guides 21 and 22' are The trap 23' is attached to a spindle 24" end a disc 25. which carries two escapement pins 26 and 27. One side ofthe disc .25 has a. counter-weight 28 which will keep. the flap 23 in a horizontal position under norin any suitable manner.

ment with a tooth of the; ratchet 28 which turns freely on the fixed, hollow shaft 29 that has its lower end secured in a" disc 30- that is fixed to a crossing 3L ofthe-t'ablefzz The upper end of the shaft 29 has a fixed disc 32 mounted thereon and alsd a 33 which may be turned by means of a rod 34 which runs through the hollowshaft 29 and has its upper end. fixed to the disc33 The disc 33 carries a' number'of pins 35 the purpose of which will appear below. The lower end of the rod 34 carries a crank arm 3'5-wi't-h an upwardly extending end which engages a bar 36' which may be shifted a slight distance until a projection 37 engages a pin or other stop 38 whereby the disc 33 may from time to time be given a slight movement for a purpose that will appear Below.

The ratchet 28 has" one setofteeth" 39 which enga'gethe pins 26 and 27 and an} other set of teeth 40 which engage the con- 7 responding. teeth on a spool 41" which turns freely on the shaft 29] This spool has a second set of ratchet teeth 42 which engage corresponding ratchet teeth on the bottom ofa rewinding spool43 which also turns freely on the spindle .29: A cord 44 which passes over a pulley 45' to a weight 46 is wound one way on the spool 41 anda second cord 47 is wound the opposite way on the spool 43. The cord"47" is brought out to any suitable position and: preferably near the handle 36 so that'it'may'be grasped and drawn to rewind the cordr44 from time to time, as desired.

Thespool 41' has an arm 48 extending therefrom and fixed thereto which at first runs horizontally and then vertically. to

support a figure 49 above t'hedevelf of the top of thetable 7 andthis table-has a" circular. opening 50 so that a slot is formed between the" edge ofthi's opening" and the edge: of the disc '32 for pe'rmitti-ng'the' rod 48 to pass completely round-the spindle 29. The parts are so arranged and disposed that when a ball 20 falls on the flap 2-3 and depresses the same and elevates the con-men weight 28 the ratchet 28 turns through ninety degrees and when it so tu'rnsit en- 'ga ges' a small pivoted contact 51,52, 53or '54, according to its location. 54"represents thehom'e plate, 51 first'base, 52 second base and 53 third base. As soon asthewire48 engages one of these pivoted contacts, this I contact is thrown on its p'ivot 55-so that; the

pivoted contact 51"engages a fixedcontact 51 or the pivoted contact 52 engages a fixed contact 52 or the movablecontact 53, en-

gages a fixed contact 53*? or the movable contact 54 engages afixed contact 54 and remains in engagement until all movable contacts are restored to normal positions by means of the p'ins35' on the di'sc' 33 which function shifting" the" rod 36 length at the apparatus and is mounted in suitable bearings so that it may be turned through substantially ninety degrees and it is provided with twolugs 57 and 58, as shown in Figure 7*, and these partsiare so arranged and disposed that when thrown,

.as'shown in said figure, the riodj48, and of course the runner 49 which is attached thereto, are both imprisoned at home plate and in'the other sections, not. shown, it will be understood that" the-lugs 57 will prevent any other rod 48 from reaching. the home P t By a reference'to Figure 4, the electrical connections will" be readily understood. The disc 32 is shown with; the fixed contacts 51*, 52?; 53; and 54 and the movable contacts 51, 52, 53" and 54,. all of these movable contacts" being pivot-ed on their respective pivots 55" which rise from the disc 32, as abovedescribedi I p The movable contact'51 has'awire 59 that runstoalamp 60in a suitable b02161" with a glass front 62 in which are mounted these lamps and the glass front has certain signs such as First base, Second base, ."Third base, Homepl'at'e so that when a lamp is illuminated the sign" will" show the base to which it is connected. A wire 6-3.1uns

from the lamp 60- to a battery or other sourceofsupply 64 and this battery is'also col'mect'ed to awire 65', at itsopposite pole which is connected through a series of wires eewaa the" fixed-' Contact 51 as well as the other fixed contacts 52, 53 and 54?.

The: movable contact 52 is" similarly connetted" to its: lamp 67" bymeans ef a wire 68% and the other terminusof this: lamp is connected tothe' wire 63 and in a similar manner the movable contact 53 is connected a wire 69 to its lamp 70* which in turn is connected to the lead in wire 63 andthe 1 last lampil is connected to the movablecontact 54*by' means of a suitable wire 72;

It will also be noted that the movable contact 54" has the wire-72" extended. to a hand" switch 73 and thence the wire-74 which runs from'its hand switchto the bell 75 7 and a wire 76 runs to the wire- 661so that when the contacts 54'- and 73" are closed the bell 75 will ring;

In the foregoing; the rod 56, bar 36 and string 47' are shownas; connected to one section only of the apparatus: 7 understood that these parts" are" connected to- 651-61 1; section" exactly, as shown for the first section so -that all se'ct ions may be golv- It is to be erned by these three" controls-and operate,

sir'nultaneonslyz In view of the foregoing, theioperationaof my improved amusement apparatus will be readily understood. Assuming that several sections are together under one attendant and several people are playing the game at the same time the action is as follows. Each strikeshis lever 3 at the handle as vigorously oras softly as he desires. If he hits too 5 hard, the ball will pass by both of the guides 21 and 22 and if he does not hit hard enough this ball will not reach the guides and in either event the ball just falls back on the lever '13 and returns to its initial position. If, however, the player should use more-care and hits the lever just right, he can land the ball between the .guides 21 and 22 so that the ball will rest on the flap 23 for a moment, then lowerthe flap before falling on the lever 13 and returning to its initial position. As soon as the flap 23is lowered, the spindle 24 is turned, the escapement operates to release the spool 41 under the influence of the weight 46 and permit the same to turn through ninety degrees. This permits the arm 48 to swing through ninety degrees and as it swings it strikes its movable contact 51 and thereby closes a circuit, which indicates first base on the sign. This swinging of the contact 51 frees the same from the rod 48 and allows this rod to move again as soon as the escapement functions once more, as above described, and then the rod 48 will reach the contact 53 which functions precisely as did the contact 51 so that then the light is illuminated for second base just as the light for first base was illuminated when the contact 51 was swung. In a similar manner a further action of the escapement produced, as above described, will allow the rod to reach third base and throw the contact 53 for the purpose of closing the circuit through the lamp and thereby indicating that third base has been reached. A game is continued so that when anotherrelease occurs, the contact 54 is shifted and then all lights are illuminated through the circuits above described. That instant the attendant turnsthe rod 56 so as to secure the rod 48 in place, closes the switch 73 to sound the bell and let all know that the game is over and he pulls the string 47 to rewind the weights 46 and shoves the rod 36 to open all the contacts and extinguish all the lights and then he opens the switch 7 3 and turns the rod 56 and the game is ready to be played on over again. The one who first gets his runner to home plate wins the game. To further simulate the game of baseball, the top of the disc 32 has a baseball diamond 77 indicated thereon so that both of the lights and by this diamond 77 a player can see how his man 49 is progressing and know how near he is to the finish, it being understood that the lamps in the box 16 are placed in a convenient line as at the top and rear of the apparatus where they may be readilyviewed, The

box 16 with the ball 20 is also placed where itcan be clearly seen so that at all times all the necessary parts of .the apparatus may be viewed by the playerj sothat he can deter- .mine at once what is doing and the results that come within the scope of the annexed claims.

' Having thus described my invention, what I claim is z 1. In an apparatus of. the class described, means for projecting a ball, means for catching said ball, an escapement connected to said ball catching means and a figure and mounting connected to said escapement at all times and means for driving said mounting, the parts being so arranged and disposed that when the ball catching apparatus functions the figure may be shifted.;

2. In an apparatus of the class described, means for projecting a balland means for catching the same, a figure and means for mounting and driving the same, means connected to the ball catching mechanism for releasing the said mounting and driving means when the ball catching means functions, a reset for restoring the figure to its initial position and a set of visual signals connected to said reset means.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, means for projecting a ball and means for catching the same, an escapement and means connectingthe same with the ball catching means, whereby the escapement will be released when the ball catching means functions, a figure constantly connected to the escapement and means for mounting and driving the same subject to the control of said escapement and a diamond adjacent to said figure. V

4. In an apparatus of the class described, means for projecting and means for catching a ball, an escapement connected to said ball catching means and made to function when the ball catching means functions and a figure and means for mounting and driving the same connected to said escapement and subject to be released by the escapement and means'for locking the figure in place upon its return to substantially its initial position.

5. In an apparatus of the class described, means for projecting a ball and means for catching the same, an escapement connected to said ball catching means, a figure and a mounting and driving means subject to the control of the escapement and an audible electric signal with circuit closing meansactuated by the figure at a predetermined point in its course.

6 111 an apparatusof the class described,

I means for projecting andmeans for catching a ball, an escapeinent connected to said ball catching means atall times, a figure and means for mounting and driving the same subject to the control of said escapenient, a baseball diamond; a lock adapted to hold said figure at the homeplate, and means for driving the figure.

In an apparatus of the class described, meansifor projecting and means forcatching a ball, an escapeinent connected tosaid ball 'catching means, a figure and means for mounting and driving the same subject to the control of said escapernent, a baseball diamond and an audible electric signal with circuit closing means actuatedby the figure at a predetern'iinedlpoint in its course;

8. In anappar-atus of the class described, means for projecting and means for catch;- ing'a' ball, a figure and means for mounting and means for driving the same subject to the action o'flthe'ball catching means, a lock adapted to hold the figure inits initial-position and a set of'visual signs indicating-v the position of the figure in the apparatus after leaving its initial position. 7

9. In an apparatus of the class deseribed, a figure and means for mounting and driv ing. the; same, a series of visual signs with. means connecting. them with saith figure whereby the position of the figure wil-lbe indicated by the. signs and airesetmecha-nism. for resettingthea apparatus so that thesigns will cease to function aften the? reset mechanism is; actuated.

- 10. In an. apparatus of:timeless described;'

an escapement andlme'ans-for actuating the same afigure and: means fori inountingand driving the SaIIlQS'IlbJBGtFiO the control of the escapement, visual" signs for indicating the 

